Will Emi And Hector Be The Most Popular Baby Names Of 2016?

Long gone are the days of parents picking traditional names such as Hannah or Tom for their children, these days parents are more likely to plump for Emi or Hector.

The experts at Babycentre have come up with a list of baby name predictions for 2016, and these are the names that they reckon will be the most popular this coming year.

Emi may top the list of girls predictions but the biggest trend from the girls names is the revival of some rather old-fashioned gems. Yep, names of a long gone era including Nora, Beryl and Effie all made their 30 name shortlist.

> Game of Thrones is predicted to influence parents

Popular TV programs still reign as a big influence on parents. Babycentre are hedging their bets that Khaleesi and Marnie, of Game of Thrones and Girls fame respectively, may well be popular with parents in 2016.

And, Babycentre predicts that when choosing their girl’s name, next year parents may look to the stars. Psychedelic names choices like Luna, Electra and Halo are all on their shortlist.

The weirdest addition? Queenie at number 8…

The boys list is led by Hector, a name of Greek origin which has been steadily gaining popularity, and following in a close second is Atticus – most known as the main character in Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird which was released with much fanfare this year.

> Harper Lee’s new novel may result in boys named Atticus

Plus, 16 years after the Beckhams named their first son Brooklyn, Babycentre suspects that place names still have influence on parents. They put Cairo, Aspen and Devon on the boys top 10 list.

Here’s the full top 10…

Girls names

1. Emi

2. Nora

3. Astrid

4. Eden

5. Marni

6. Luna

7. Cleo

8. Queenie

9. Cicily

10. Beryl

Boys names

1. Hector

2. Atticus

3. Aspen

4. Otto

5. Devon

6. Nelson

7. Kit

8. Alberto

9. Cairo

10. Colton

So, will their predictions turn out to be true? We will have to wait and see…